A west coast mystery maven, reprinted
The Suspect: Murder in a Small Town
by L.R. Wright
New York: Felony and Mayhem Press, 2024
$26.95 / 9781631943164
Reviewed by Ginny Ratsoy
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American publisher Felony and Mayhem Press bills its series of reprints of early L.R. Wright classics as “perfect for fans of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series.” Although I will resist the temptation to do an extended comparison of the two female Canadian mystery mavens, I will agree that both authors craft character-driven, psychologically-propelled stories that require readers to make good use of their little grey cells.
Almost four decades before Penny’s The Grey Wolf (2024)became the top-selling adult book in North America, Laurali Rose Wright (1939-2001) published her first mystery in what would be a series of ten that featured RCMP Karl Alberg and librarian Cassandra Mitchell. In 1986, The Suspect became the first Canadian novel to win the coveted Edgar Award. As the reprinting indicates, the series has had staying power, having recently been adapted for television on the US’s Fox Network (streaming on Hulu; airing on Global in Canada and renewed for a second season) as Murder in a Small Town.
Set in tiny Sechelt, British Columbia, in a time when people might not lock their doors and neighbours might drop in at any moment, The Suspect is not a standard whodunnit. Wright upends many conventional mystery tropes: readers know the identity of the culprit from page one, the cop-perpetrator relationship unfolds in an unexpected way, the budding Karl-Cassandra relationship is anything but steamy, and things are more grey than black-and-white. Wright’s approach of getting into the minds of both sleuth and culprit in equal measure leads the reader to question both commonplace notions of crime detection and the nature of justice itself.
George Wilcox seems anything but a typical villain. A sympathetic character who surprises himself when he kills his former brother-in-law Carlyle in the latter’s home, the retired teacher volunteers at the local hospital, delights in gardening, and enjoys a friendship with Cassandra. Wilcox initially accepts his guilt, appears resigned to being quickly apprehended, and even places the murder weapon in plain view in his home. Only when he realizes he may have some time to play with does George act to cover up his crime.
Wright’s creation of a complex, credible elderly mind is masterful. The 80-year-old’s recollection of both the distant and immediate past is variously lucid and murky. Outwardly often the confident sage, philosophizing with Cassandra and Karl about the roles and responsibilities of the gardener, George is inwardly plagued with guilt, anger, and doubt.
Wrapped up in this crime is childhood baggage around his feelings of complicity in the deaths of his parents and his subsequent sense of duty to his much younger sister. As George reflects intensely on his long relationship with Carlyle, he comes to doubt the extent of Carlyle’s villainy and to wonder if he himself had been complicit in more than he had previously allowed himself to recollect. Some of his inner turmoil remains unresolved.
Outwardly, though, George becomes resolute. When his arrest seems imminent, he decides to flee Sechelt—after methodically preparing a pre-flight departure list that includes returning library books, resigning his volunteer position, and taking custody of Carlyle’s pet parrot. When George makes Cassandra privy to his plan and confesses his crime, he knows full well she may not keep his secret. To her question of motive, he responds vaguely, largely because he himself is uncertain of the answer. Although, in the end, the reader is privy to more about George’s motive, the entire situation is never wholly clear.
Karl Alberg’s motivations are often murky, as well. The middle-aged recent divorcee is a typical twentieth-century male detective in few ways, except that he is out-of-touch with his feelings. Prematurely curmudgeonly, he is a man of few words. His backstory is revealed largely (and slowly) through his memories of his marriage and feelings of loneliness. Alberg shares with Wilcox a methodical approach: he searches and re-searches until he has proof of a long-held hypothesis. He also possesses in abundance the necessary detecting gifts of reflection and imagination. He can also, by reflecting, recall not only presences, but also absences, and this is key to how he solves the crime and closes the case.
The relationship between the investigating officer and the criminal is most often the reversal of that of a typical crime novel. For example, on their first real meeting, the perpetrator interrogates the cop. In his final visit to George, Alberg, in typical crime novel fashion, reconstructs the few hours leading up to the crime. And yet, the rest of the encounter is atypical: George responds with a story that goes farther back—a detailed account of the inner turmoil George endured for decades that could be interpreted as a confession to the recent murder and an account of what precipitated it. And Alberg’s eventual response to that story is decidedly not that of a run-of-the-mill crime-story cop.
As events unfold, Cassandra’s friendship with George—a surrogate father-daughter relationship—is put to the test, as, of course, is her fledgling romance with Alberg. Her response to George’s confession and planned exit is based on loyalty and a logic that transcends the reasoning of the law. Her response to Alberg when he presents her what he has deduced about her involvement is that of an independent woman firm in her convictions. This reader would have liked to have seen more of Cassandra – a need that is met in subsequent volumes in the series.
If the reader is looking for a straight-up, all-the-puzzle-pieces firmly-in-place crime novel, The Suspect may not fit the bill. However, if the reader is looking for a complex psychological read that explores the murkiness of the justice system, friendship, and, well, life in general, satisfaction is highly likely. In addition to nationality, L.R. Wright shares with her literary successor Louise Penny a predilection for challenging and rewarding creations.
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Ginny Ratsoy is a Professor Emerita at Thompson Rivers University. Her scholarly publications have focused on Canadian fiction, theatre, small cities, third-age learning, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Since 2007, she has also been a volunteer instructor of Canadian Literature with the Kamloops Adult Learners Society, most recently teaching a course on novels set in the BC Interior. Since her retirement in 2020, she has also been involved as a board member and course coordinator in KALS, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2025. Ratsoy is grateful to have this independent organization devoted to lifelong learning in her community and proud of her small role in its success. [Editor’s note: Ginny Ratsoy has recently reviewed books by Jennifer Cooper, Sara Cassidy, Kallie George, Bill Richardson, Alison Hughes, Caroline Woodward, David Suzuki, Iona Whishaw, Danny Ramadan, and Polly Horvath for BCR.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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